Not that long ago the idea of a “food truck” conjured images of a grungy vehicle selling steamed hot dogs and greasy food in front of your workplace. Times have changed and you can get “five star” foods in unique varieties from your local food truck.
Food truck rallies – events that draw in a myriad of food trucks with unique foods – to a central location are popping up around the country. Social media announcements let local foodies know where the trucks will be gathering and hungry patrons crowd around the trucks waiting their turn to place an order. Today’s food trucks are owned and manned by trained chefs, successful restaurateurs who look to a food truck as a way to expand their business or who have closed their restaurant in favor of a food truck. Food trucks are also owned by people just like you! Someone who wants to be an entrepreneur and who loves serving delicious food.
Just as opening a sit-down restaurant is difficult to turn into a successful operation, opening a food truck carries with it major start-up expenses and a whole host of competition.
How To Start A Food Truck Business Serving Authentic Pizza Oven Pizzas!
If you want to start up a food truck, you need to keep a few things in mind:
- Find a unique niche
- Test your food on willing foodies before you jump into food truck ownership
- Build a social media following
Here are the other steps necessary to start a food truck business:
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Know the licensing requirements in the state/municipality in which you’re going to operate your food truck. You can’t simply equip a food truck, find a parking space and start selling food. You’ll need permits, insurance and health department certificates, at a minimum.
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Find a truck to equip. A fully equipped food truck could cost about $100,000 for a new vehicle. The vehicle will require specialty equipment in order to serve food to the public. Determine how you will pay for it and build out a business plan that includes costs of goods and services as well as what you will charge; you’ll need that information on your business plan if you require financing for your food truck. Insurance costs for the vehicle as well as the equipment will also be required.
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Determine your unique niche. Imagine serving specialty pizzas, cooked in an authentic pizza oven. You can update the toppings based on the season, on the type of event you’re attending or you could have build your own options to cater to the unique tastes of your customers. Pizza cooked in an authentic pizza oven impart a unique flavor, texture and beautiful presentation that foodies demand.
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Where will you park when you’re serving food and when you’re not? Do you have enough space in your driveway for the food truck to be parked on off hours? If not, where will you park it and what will that cost? More importantly, where will you park to serve food? You may not be able to simply pull up in front of a business complex, put out your sandwich board and happily sell food. Check on zoning laws and parking regulations and restrictions before you jump into food truck ownership. Determine whether you'll be in the same space all the time or if you want to have a moveable feast food truck; many food truck owners find that they garner a big following if the foodies in town aren’t quite certain where they will be on any given day… until they have checked social media to discover that.
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Speaking of social media. Build buzz around your food truck and the unique food your truck will specialize in and start promoting it far and wide on social media! Facebook and Twitter are ideal places to start conversations and Instagram is where you will want to be to share images of your unique, delicious food. While you’re building your following, consider offering catering for local businesses or special events. Reach out to event planners who may hire a food truck to be at their event.
Food trucks have gained so much traction that it is one of the hottest new businesses. If you’ve always dreamed of being your own boss, owning a restaurant-type business, serving pizzas cooked in an authentic pizza oven this might be the time for you to jump in and realize your dream!
Do you have questions on how a pizza oven will fit into your food truck plans? Email us at sales@fireflypizzaovens.com or give us a call, let's talk!
Thank you to Penny Warring of Authentic Pizza Ovens for the great article! Check out their brand new, reinforced pizza oven specifically designed for professional food truck use here!!! Choose between black and red for in stock colors or special order the yellow model.
